Abstract
Education in Australia is provided and delivered in different forms but the traditional mode of acquiring education is considered conventional and widely accepted.
This traditional mode entails provision of education through the school system which may be public or private and may be a primary or elementary as it is known in some countries; it can also be secondary and tertiary which includes higher educational institutions like the colleges and universities. The availability of numerous educational opportunities in Australia is an indication that every Australian has a variety that he/she should choose from depending on his/her preference.
As to whether or not this numerous educational opportunities are taken to mean that all Australians have equal access to education is the main subject of this essay. This essay will discuss the role played by education and training in Australia as a way of promoting equality of opportunity. The essay will begin by giving a brief description of education in Australia and identification of various social groups that have a limited chance to education and training and provides factors that influence their access to education.
It will also discuss the processes and the policies that the government can design to overcome the inequality of opportunity. Consequently, the essay will dwell on the ways by which the community can support the disadvantaged groups. At the end of the essay, recommendations of what need to be addressed to facilitate equality of opportunity will be given and a conclusion drawn thereafter.
Introduction
There has never been a unanimity concerning the goals and the outcome of education, consequently no one has comprehensively defined education. The widely accepted definition of education is to “stimulate a love for questioning, to promote self reliance and risk taking” (Tepperman & Blain, 2006, p. 216).
The ultimate goal of education is to have a successful future though there is no conventional yardstick for measuring or judging success. Furthermore, education is aimed at dragging, directing and disciplining students to enable them to perform effectively in the real world through the promotion of virtues like obedience and orderliness (Tepperman & Blain, 2006).
Before we analyze the role of education in promoting equality of opportunity, it is paramount to understand what equality of opportunity is: equality of opportunity is understood to mean the absence of legally accepted and condoned form of discrimination based on such aspects as race, religion and gender (Argy, 2006). Australian journal of teacher education defines equality of opportunity as a system where students are differentiated based on their educational merit.
History of Education in Australia
Australia is an isolated country with both a state and a territory government; the population of Australia is of assorted cultural and ethnic backgrounds. These unique characteristics of Australia mean that the education policies and strategies should be structured in such a way that it accommodates this multiplicity of factors (ANTA, n.d.).
Education in Australia is considered to indispensably contribute to the personal, social and economic prosperity of both the individuals and the society. It is considered a vital tool for the development of human resource and imperative in updating personal skills for individual survival in the global arena and economy therefore it is fundamental to be educated and re-educated.
Education plays a significant role in raising the standard of living of an individual and the society at large. The long term aspirations of education are to help eradicate poverty, ignorance and increase the standard of living of the people (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002).
Role of Education
The role of education in the society is too powerful to be ignored and essential for the prosperity of humankind. Parents advise their children to go to school and study hard in order to achieve good grades that will enable them secure decent jobs. According to Lawson and Garrod (2003), this system of education rewards and allocates opportunities based on merit and not inscriptive factors like race, social status or class and religion (Lawson and Garrod, 2003).
Everyone in Australia has equality of opportunity on theory but empirically it is not a reality since there is no guarantee of access to education opportunities by particular segment of the population which may be due to their social status or other social factors. This has been evidenced among the Aboriginal and Torres straits islanders who form part of Australian population (Australia Department of Education, 1977).
Delor’s (UNESCO) report, Learning: the treasure within, education is the only indispensible asset that will enable individuals to face the challenges that confront them. The report also asserts that education plays a fundamental role in both personal and social development.
According to the report, education enables people to overcome the problems that life provides, it argues that the main mission of education is to assist individuals to develop their talents and realize their full potential which includes responsibility for their own lives and makes them achieve their individual aims. Education enables individuals to adapt to changes in life and to benefit human experience thus education act as survival tool (UNESCO, n.d.).
The Australian philosophy on education is articulated in the Australian vocational education and training system. The main objective of vocational education and training is to promote the people, the society, and the economy and to upgrade the labor market. Australia has three educational sectors namely: the school sector, vocational education and training sector and the university sector (Marshall, n.d.).
The school sector offers basic and preparatory education and ranges from 1-12 years. Consequently, there are three parties that are responsible for funding and delivery of education and training in Australia, these are: the government, industry and individuals, the funding from the government and industry is equal.
Majority of vocational and training programs are facilitated by public institutions. There are twelve levels of education in Australia: “certificates of education, senior secondary, certificate 1, certificate 2, certificate 3, certificate 4, diploma, advanced diploma, bachelor degree, graduate diploma, masters’ degree, doctoral degree” (ANTA, n.d., p. 1).
Education facilitates social partnership in the society which is instrumental in addressing the demands of the young people towards advancing the culture of life long learning which encourages long term sustainability. Education and training is a productive way of dealing with the swift changes in both social and economic aspects since it fosters individuals’ initiatives that are fundamental in securing employment and enhancing their standard of living (Marginson, 1991).
Education is fundamental in producing social and human capital, human capital concerns individual knowledge and skills which can only be achieved though education and it is taken to be a valuable resource. Investment in human and social capital generates economic benefit and enhances individual chances for potential employment. A research by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) indicated that an additional year of education leads to an increase in per capita income (OECD, 2001).
Education in Australia is an important variable in determining upward mobility and work prospect among individuals; therefore a failed education system may lead to increase in the chances for unemployment.
There is a high standard of education in Australia and quality schools have enhanced literacy rate in the state, consequently, the expansion of education and education facilities has resulted in majority of Australians including those form low-income background to access education and hence giving them an opportunity to rise upwards in the occupational ladder.
This has also led to the reduction in the gender gap since women no longer experience educational weakness. Prior to this, Australia had been witnessing discrimination on the socio-economic dimension especially in the education sector; the children of the economically underprivileged families used to perform poorly than those of the rich children (Argy, 2006).
In Australia, there is a strong relationship between education and training and full time employment. Those with low levels of education and training are mainly the casual workers and the unemployed whereas those with high educational qualifications find full time employment (Department of Education, 2000).
Social Groups with Limited Access to Education
Low income: low income Australians cannot afford education for their children due to the expensive nature of Australian education. This has led to the widening gap between the children from economically endowed backgrounds and those from poor backgrounds. Education in Australia has been reduced to a rich-poor calamity.
Aboriginals and Torres Straits: These are the indigenous people in Australia and they live in remote places. This group has had difficulty in accessing education and learning facilities. These segments of the population suffer from the problem of being neglected by successive governments.
It is believed that the indigenous populations are ranked lower in esteem and hence they are not considered for educational opportunities. To ensure that the aboriginals are ameliorated, the government, through the Indigenous Education Strategic Institute Program has initiated important initiatives like the employment of indigenous staff and the funding of research on indigenous learning (Smith, Ferrier, Burke, Schofield, Long, & Shah, 2002).
Their low ranking in the society was explained by the fact that they (the indigenous) were enfranchised only in 1967 by the Australian Electoral Commission (Australian Electoral Commission, n.d.). Cultural factors also contribute to the inability of the indigenous population to gain equality of opportunity.
The indigenous population is not politically informed and they consider their subordination as normal. Statistics in the department of education in Australia showed that equality of education is an unattainable in Australia. It was indicated that by 2006, the population of the indigenous population who had completed level 12 stood at 36 percent as opposed to the population of the non-indigenous which stood during the same time at 76 percent (Australian Government, 2003).
Policies Designed to Overcoming Inequality in Education system
The government has developed a policy that is aimed at improving the literacy rate and enhancing the literacy skills for those people and students who fall below the national reading mark. Consequently, the federal government has arrangements that are geared towards the equalization of education opportunities; this is to be achieved through funding arrangements like federal SES plan and the Assistance for Isolated Children Program (Argy, 2006).
The government has also introduced the Indigenous Education Strategic Institute Program (IESIP) which is instrumental in the development of initiatives that include employment of indigenous staff by the Vocational and Educational Training (Marginson, 1993).
Australian government in its effort to promote equality of opportunity through education during the regime of Hawke in 1989 established the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS). This scheme allowed students to defer the payments of university fees and later repay them when their income reached particular threshold.
The main reason for this program was to make higher education more accessible and affordable to people of all economic classes. In 1996, when Howard took over government it still retained HECS and began another program where vocational and education training was funded by the federal government. It also established the centre link which was a statutory institution operated by the federal government that offered financial help (Australian Council for Educational Research, 2001).
The local communities have a role to play in aiding the disadvantaged people. This is because there is widespread inequality among particular groups within Australian population. This disadvantaged population in Australia is found in the remote places and also within city neighborhoods; they consider their disadvantaged position being as a result of limited access to employment, education service and other related opportunities.
The local community should, mobilize resources in order to supplement government’s effort in the financing of education. Consequently, the community should establish support and pressure groups who will take the responsibility of putting pressure on the government to support the disadvantaged people of the society.
To ensure that all Australians access equal opportunities, a lot of campaigns must be carried out especially on sensitizing the indigenous people on the importance of education and informing them of their rights as Australians. Since information is power, the indigenous people should be informed rightfully; this is a role that can be played by the community.
Recommendations: From the essay, it is evident that the government needs to step and ensure that all the Australia people access education since it is the only tool that will ameliorate and uplift the standard of the underprivileged in the society. This can be achieved through provision of subsidies in the education sector where schools in the environment of the indigenous and other poor population are made free.
Also the government should increase grants since it is instrumental in enhancing its objective of financing education. This will attract students from the poor backgrounds into accessing education and subsequently equality of opportunity. The government should also enact legislation that will cater for all citizens and which will outlaw any form of discrimination.
Conclusion
From various surveys that have been carried out by various stakeholders, there is a direct connection between accessing education and equality of opportunity. The Government of Australia has done a lot in ensuring that all people are guaranteed equality of opportunity; this has been made a reality through prioritizing education and training which is considered a gateway to employment.
Education opportunities should be made affordable to all Australians as it will lead to a qualified and well trained labor force. A well trained labor force enhances productivity and hence the economy will improve. Educating all the people in the society will go a long way to benefit the government as well as its people.
References
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